DIRECTOR APPOINTED TO `V&A AT DUNDEE’ PROJECT

 Mr Philip Long has been appointed as the Director of the V&A at Dundee. Mr Long is currently Senior Curator of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and leads the National Galleries of Scotland's Artist Rooms project. As Director of the V&A at Dundee he will lead the project to establish an international centre for design on the banks of the river Tay.

“I am delighted that we have been able to appoint Philip Long as Director for the V&A at Dundee,” said Lesley Knox, Chair of Design Dundee Ltd, the company delivering the V&A at Dundee.

“This is a very significant moment for the project. Philip Long has an outstanding background in culture and the arts, particularly in relation to museums and galleries, and he is the ideal person to take our project forward.” Sir Mark Jones, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, said, “We are delighted that Philip Long has agreed to become Director of the V&A at Dundee. His great knowledge of and enthusiasm for twentieth century and contemporary design, and his proven talent for communicating contemporary art to a wide public are just what is needed for this exciting project.”

Philip Long said, “It is an honour to have been appointed to lead the V&A at Dundee to reality. The design for the new museum is superb, and the idea for the project is inspirational. V&A at Dundee will be international in ambition, and will rightly celebrate the vital part Scotland has played in design history, as well as being a focus for design-led innovation and opportunity in our country.”

Philip Long has been Senior Curator of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art since 1998. Since 2008 he has been responsible for leading the National Galleries of Scotland’s Artist Rooms project, which in collaboration with Tate brings exhibitions of international contemporary art to museums and galleries across the UK. As an acknowledged expert in Scottish art and design, Philip Long has organised exhibitions and written highly praised publications on William Gillies, Anne Redpath, the Scottish Colourists, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and on the architect Basil Spence. From 2003-10 he served on the Scottish Arts Lottery Committee and in 2007 was invited to curate Scotland’s national representation at the Venice Biennale. Most recently, he worked with the artist Antony Gormley to develop a major public artwork installed across Edinburgh.

The V&A at Dundee is being delivered by Design Dundee Ltd, a ground-breaking partnership between the Victoria and Albert Museum - the world’s greatest museum of art and design - and Dundee City Council, the Universities of Dundee and Abertay Dundee, and Scottish Enterprise.

Design Dundee Ltd is aiming to create a landmark building, which will be sited at Craig Harbour right on the banks of the River Tay. The site is being made available through the Dundee Central Waterfront Partnership, the joint venture between Dundee City Council and Scottish Enterprise which is revitalising the prime area of land linking the city centre with the River Tay. An international design competition for the V&A at Dundee building was won by the Japanese practice Kengo Kuma & Associates. The building will create a world-class public space that celebrates the creative culture of design, the evolution of design, its role in our lives, its economic impact and its commercial relevance.

www.VandAatDundee.com